Four-cycle gasolene-engine.



A. B. BAKER.

FOUR CYCLE GASOLENE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10. 1913.

1,146,990. Patented July 20, 1915.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON. D. C.

-A. B; BAKER.

FOUR CYCLE GASOLENE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-10. 1913.

1,146,990. Patented July 20,1915.

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ARTHURIB. BAKER, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

FOUR-CYCLE GASOLENE-ENGINE. l

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR B. BAKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F our-Gycle Gasolene-Engines, of which the following is aspecificaof the invention will appear hereinafter.

. pistons of cylinders 2 and 3 are connected by In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view through the engine, the line of thesection passing through all of the valves; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the engine; and Fig. 3 a horizontal sectional view taken through the upper part of the engine.

Referring to the various parts by numerals, 1, 2, 3 and 4 designate four cylinders in each of which reciprocates a piston 5. The crank shaft 6 is formed with the two end cranks 7-7 and with the center crank 8. The pistons of cylinders 1 and 4 are connected by pitmen. 9to the crank 7 andthe pitmen 10 to the crank 8. The cranks 7 are precisely alike so that the pistons operated thereby move synchronously and as a pair. It is manifest that the pistons in the cylinders 2 and 3 also move together. as a pair so that when the pistons of the cylinders 2 and 3 are atthe limit of their inward stroke the pistons connected to the cranks 7 are at the end of their outward stroke, said pistons making their inward stroke when the pistons in cylinders 2 and 3 are making their outward stroke.

Each cylinder is formed with a compression and ignition chamber 11 and with an intake valve 12, an exhaust valve 13, and a pressure-operated piston 100. These valves and the pistons are arranged in suitable openings in the ends of the cylinders. Each intake valve consists of a chambered bushing 14 having a valve seatat its inner end Specification of Letters I'atent.

Patented July 20, 1915.

Application filed September 10, 1913. Serial No. 789,067.

and shouldered to fit against an annular flange 15 at the inner end of the valvereceiving opening in the cylinder-end. This chambered bushing is held in place by means of a threaded ring 16. The valve 12 is carried by a stem 17 centrally supported in the bushing 14 and provided on its outer end with a head 18, a compression spring 19 being arranged between said head and the outer end of the valve bushing, said spring serving to ,yieldingly hold the valve 12 to its seat. The exhaust valve 13- also consists of a chambered bushing 20 held in place by a threaded ring 21 and through which the valve stem 22 extends. A head 23 is secured to the outer end of this stem and between said head and the bushing is arranged a spring 2 1 which holds the exhaust valve to its seat.

The piston or plunger 100 works in a cylinder or bushing 101 fitted in an opening in the head of the cylinder, and held in place in said opening by means of a threaded ring 102, said cylinder being shouldered at its inner end to fit against an annular shoulderv 108 formed on the engine cylinder body. The plunger is provided with a stem 10 1 and at the end of this stem is provided a head 105. The cylinder or bushing 101 is provided with an annular seat 106 for the plunger at its inner end. A spring 107 is placed between the top of the plunger and a cap 108, and serves to hold said plunger normally against said inner seat 106. The heads 23 and 105 of stems 22 and 104: are each laterally apertured to respectively receive valve-operating arms 38, carried by rocking levers 37 pivotally mounted on top of the engine.

The rocking levers 37 are four in number,

and they are each so arrangedthat one of outward movement of the piston is obtained by the pressure of compression or explosion in that one of the cylinders which is the next to be fired. In the drawing, cylinder No. 3 has just been fired and its piston has just commenced the working stroke, and the pressure generated by the explosion has pushed piston 100 outwardly, and this outward movement has caused the exhaust valve in cylinder No. 1 to be opened, this cylinder No. 1 having just completed its working stroke. This action will be repeated in each one of the cylinders in order, to the end that immediately before or after explosion takes place the exhaust valve in the cylinder which F. is-ready to exhaust will be opened.

The explosive mixture is admitted through pipe 26 to the branch pipes 27, these latter pipes communicating with the intake passages 28, these latter passages opening into the intake valve chambers. One intake 28 is in communication with the intake valve chambers of cylinders 1 and 2, the other intake being in communication with the intake valve chambers of cylinders 3 and 4, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The exhaust valve chambers of cylinders 2 and 3 are in communication with an outlet 29 and the exhaust valve chambers of cylinders 1 and 4 are in communication with outlets 30 and 31, respectively, allof these outlets being in communication with a pipe 32.

Each cylinder at its outer end is formed with an annular series of exhaust ports 33 which communicate with an exhaust chamber 3 1, said chamber being in turn in comand 4: cannot reach cylinders 1 and 2 so that there will be no possibility of the exhaust from one cylinder igniting the explosive mixture in any one of the other cylinders.

It will be observed from the foregoingthat the gist of my invention lies in utilizing a part or modicum of the power developed by the compression or explosion of the charge in each cylinder to automatically assist in exhausting the products of combustion from one of the other cylinders which just completed its working stroke. The preferred manner of doing this is to employ a plunger such as that described and shown and so arranging it that it forms in effect a portion of the wall of the explosion chamber of the cylinder, and inutilizing the out- Ward movement of this plunger to positively open the exhaust valve, but it will be understood that in view of the broad nature of applicants invention, a great variety of other devices may be used for carrying out the invention without departing from the spirit thereof.

The plungers 100 are adapted to be forced outwardly by the pressure in the cylinder at the completionofthe compression stroke of the pistons 5. Thepres'sure in the cylinderatthat time may be due solely to the compression of the pistonor it may be due to the explosion of the compressed mixture. It is desirable that the pistons 100 be operated approximately at the time when the piston has completed its compression movement in O1'Cl61-thtIlZIthQ'GXhELUSt valve controlled through the piston100j will be opened in that cylinder wherein the piston has just begun its exhaust movement. The compression necessary to move the pistons 100 may be nicely regulated bymeans of the spring 107. It will, of course, be understood that if the pressure produced at the completion of the compression stroke of the piston is notsufficient to move the plunger 100 and thereby open the exhaust valve in another cylinder the pressure produced by the explosion of the mixture will instantly operate the plunger andopen the connected exhaust valve. It will, therefore, be seen that it is only necessary that the pressure in the cylinder when the piston has completed its compression stroke be suflicient to'move the phmger lOO and it is to be understood that when I refer to the pressure in the cylinder at the time the piston has completed its compression stroke, I mean either the compression pressure or the pressure produced by exploding the gas mixture. It is immaterial how the pressure is produced provided it is present in the cylinder at the time when the piston is at the inner end of the cylinder and has completed or about completed its compression movement.

It will be understood also that the presout invention is not necessarily confined to the type of engine described, in which the main exhaust takes place at the outer ends of the cylinders, but in case the invention is applied to that type in which the entire exhaust will take place through the automatically operated exhaust valves 13, it is probable that a type of valve different from that illustrated will need to be'employed, in view'of the heavy pressure thatwould have to be overcome in order to open the valves. For instance, in such case I might employ a rotary valve and connect the same up tothe pressure piston 100, so that the outward movement of the piston would rotate or oscillate the valve to exhaust position. Again, I might provide a preliminary or pilot valve which would open preliminarily 'to the main valve and thus relieve the pressure sufficiently to permitthemain valve to "be readily opened.

mitting the ready operation of the exhaust.

valves through the pressure of compression or explosion. It is also manifest that by providing means for exhausting the burned gases at both ends of each cylinder a thorough cleaning out of each cylinder is secured. A

From the foregoing it is manifest that I combine in this engine the advantages of both the two-cycle engine and the four-cycle engine. The engine may be started by rotating the crank shaft in either direction. There are no mechanical connections between the crank shaft and the valves so that the engine is reversible. I provide an engine having an exhaust at both ends of each cylinder, thereby securing a very complete expulsion of the burned gases and insuring a complete charge of fresh explosive mixture. By operating both the intake and exhaust valve by means of the pressure of compression or explosion, I avoid the use of all valve operating cams and rods. I have combined the simplicity of a two-cycle engine with the efiiciency of a four-cycle engine.

It will be observed that in view of the fact that the springs 24 of the exhaust valves metely augment the action of the springs 107 of the plungers, it may be possible to do away with one or the other of these springs. It will be observed also that it is probably not material whether the pistons 100 be actuated by the pressure of compression or the pressure of explosion, but, should the springs 107 be adjusted as to tension so that the pressure of compression will actuate the pistons, it will be seen that the explosion which subsequently follows will render the action of the pistons more certain in that, should they stick, the pressure of the explosion will cause them to be actuated.

It may be desirable to so adjust the tension of springs 107 that the pistons 100will be actuated by pressure of compression alone, so that by the time the shock of the explosion takes place, the pistons will have been pressed outwardly far enough to be solidly seated against the springs, in which case all danger of crystallizing the metal of the springs by the severe and repeated shocks of explosion will be avoided. Should it be desirable to actuate the pistons by explosion pressure, it may be necessary to provide means whereby the severe shocks of explosion will be prevented from injuring the springs by breaking or crystallizing them. One way of doing this would be to choke the passage of gas from the explosion chamber into the piston chamber. In the structure illustrated, this choking action may be accomplished by the annular flange 106,- but, should this annularfiange be insuflicient to sufficiently choke down the action of the gas on the piston, this flange may be increased in diameter to any desired extent; and, should it be desired from time to time to vary the area of this choked passage, it will be observed that I may readily provide the same with means to manually varythe area from time to time.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A multiple-cylinder four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising a multiplicity of cylinders, an inlet valve and an exhaust valve for each cylinder, a movable piston in each cylinder, a movable part forming a portion of the wall of the explosion chamber and means connected to each of said movable parts whereby the pressure in each cylinder at the completion of the compression stroke of the piston will open the exhaust valve of one of the other cylinders.

2. A multiple-cylinder four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising a multiplicity of cylinders, an inlet valve and an exhaust valve for each cylinder, a movable piston in each cylinder, a movable plunger forming a portion of the wall of the explosion chamber and means connected to each of said movable plungers whereby the pressure in each cylinder at the completion of the compression stroke of the piston will open ghe exhaust valve of one of the other cyliners.

3 A multiple-cylinder four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising a multiplicity of cylinders, an inlet valve and an exhaust valve for each cylinder, a movable piston in each cylinder, movable means connected to each cylinder and exposed to the pressure therein and means connected to each of said movable means and to an exhaust valve of one of the other cylinders, whereby the pressure in each cylinder at the completion of the compression stroke of the piston will open said connected exhaust valve.

4. A multiple-cylinder four-cycle internal combustion engine comprising a multiplicity of cylinders, an inlet valve and an exhaust valve for each cylinder, a movable piston in each cylinder, a movable plunger for each cylinder and exposed to the pressure in said cylinder, means connecting each plunger to the exhaust valve of one of the other cylinders, a spring for normally forcing each of said plungers inwardly, whereby the pressure in. each cylinder at the completion of the compression stroke of the piston will open the exhaust valve of another cylinder.

5. A multiple-cylinder four-cycle internal combustion enginecomprising a multiplicity of cylinders, an inlet valve and an exhaust valve for each cylinder, a movable piston in each cylinder, a movable plunger for each cylinder and exposed to the pressure in said cylinder, mechanical means connecting each plunger to the exhaust valve of one of the othr Cylinders, a p rin'g for .normallyffQfc In testimony whreof- Iherunto xifix my ing each of said plungers inwardly, whereby signature in the presence; oft-W0 Witnesses. the pressure in each cylinder at the c0n1p1e- 1 ARTHUR BFBAKER. tion of thg compression stroke of the piston Witnesses: k

will open the exhaust valve of another cyl- ."QC ARLEQDQ DAVIS, V lnder. I CHARLES LOWELL HOWARD. 

